Tadpoles are the larval stage of frogs and toads. When you see one that has recently hatched from an egg it doesn’t look anything like a frog or toad. It looks more like a fish and it swims like a fish since it doesn’t have arms or legs but does have a long tail. Tadpoles go through a process called metamorphosis as they change into adult amphibians. As tadpoles they have gills, like fish do, for breathing in water and gradually their lungs develop so they can breath air. Their front legs and hind legs gradually develop and their tail gets absorbed into their body. As a tadpole they have little tiny mouths but by the time they are adults they have a large mouth that stretches across the face. Even the intestines change as they go from only eating plants as tadpoles to eating lots of insects as adult frogs or toads. If you come to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday June 16 and visit the WOW booth we’ll give you some tadpoles and information about raising them.
Here’s a good link to give you more information about raising tadpoles: